Willis Grant (1 May 1907 – 9 November 1981) was an English cathedral organist, who served in St. Philip's Cathedral, Birmingham.

Background

Willis Grant was born on 1 May 1907 in

Bolton Bolton (, locally ) is a large town in Greater Manchester in North West England, formerly a part of Lancashire. A former mill town, Bolton has been a production centre for textiles since Flemish people, Flemish weavers settled in the area i ...

, Lancashire. He was educated at Astley Bridge School. He studied the organ with Walter Williams of Bury and

Edward Bairstow Sir Edward Cuthbert Bairstow (22 August 18741 May 1946) was an English organist and composer in the Anglican church music tradition. Life and career Bairstow was born in Trinity Street, Huddersfield in 1874. His grandfather Oates Bairstow was ...

York Minster The Cathedral and Metropolitical Church of Saint Peter in York, commonly known as York Minster, is the cathedral of York, North Yorkshire, England, and is one of the largest of its kind in Northern Europe. The minster is the seat of the Archbis ...

. Whilst at Lincoln he was Music Master at South Park High School, Conductor of the Great Burton Choral Society, and Lecturer in Music for the Extra-Mural department of the

University of Nottingham The University of Nottingham is a public university, public research university in Nottingham, United Kingdom. It was founded as University College Nottingham in 1881, and was granted a royal charter in 1948. The University of Nottingham belongs t ...

. In 1934 he became a Doctor of Music (Dunelm) and was the youngest Doctor of Music in the country. From 1934 to 1937 he was Lecturer in Music at

Sheffield University , mottoeng = To discover the causes of things , established = – University of SheffieldPredecessor institutions: – Sheffield Medical School – Firth College – Sheffield Technical School – University College of Sheffield , type = Pu ...

. From 1938 to 1939 he was Tutor for the Special Music Course at the City of Sheffield Technical College. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

he served with the

Royal Army Service Corps The Royal Army Service Corps (RASC) was a corps of the British Army responsible for land, coastal and lake transport, air despatch, barracks administration, the Army Fire Service, staffing headquarters' units, supply of food, water, fuel and dom ...

, 1941–1942 and was a Major in the

Royal Army Educational Corps The Royal Army Educational Corps (RAEC) was a corps of the British Army tasked with educating and instructing personnel in a diverse range of skills. On 6 April 1992 it became the Educational and Training Services Branch (ETS) of the Adjutant Gene ...

in the Indian Command lecturing on music, 1942–1946. From 1948 he was head of music at

King Edward's School, Birmingham King Edward's School (KES) is an independent school (UK), independent day school for boys in the British Public school (UK), public school tradition, located in Edgbaston, Birmingham. Founded by Edward VI of England, King Edward VI in 1552, it ...

. His eminent pupil

Harrison Oxley Thomas Frederick Harrison Oxley (known professionally as Harrison Oxley and socially as Fred Oxley) (3 April 1933 – 6 April 2009) was a British organist, who was appointed Organist of St Edmundsbury Cathedral aged 24. At the time, he was ...

was his Assistant until leaving for

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniqu ...

in 1951. From 1958 to 1972, Grant was professor of music at the

University of Bristol , mottoeng = earningpromotes one's innate power (from Horace, ''Ode 4.4'') , established = 1595 – Merchant Venturers School1876 – University College, Bristol1909 – received royal charter , type ...

. He founded the Birmingham Bach Society in 1947 In 1958, Willis Grant was invited to become the Stanley Hugh Baddock Professor of Music at

Bristol University , mottoeng = earningpromotes one's innate power (from Horace, ''Ode 4.4'') , established = 1595 – Merchant Venturers School1876 – University College, Bristol1909 – received royal charter , type ...

, and he held this post until his retirement in 1972. He died on 9 November 1981.

Career

Assistant Organist of: *

Lincoln Cathedral Lincoln Cathedral, Lincoln Minster, or the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Lincoln and sometimes St Mary's Cathedral, in Lincoln, England, is a Grade I listed cathedral and is the seat of the Anglican Bishop of Lincoln. Constructio ...

1931–1936 Organist of: *

Church of All Souls, Bolton The Church of All Souls is a redundant Anglican church in Astley Street, Astley Bridge, Bolton, Lancashire, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building, and is under the car ...

1929–1931 * St. Philip's Cathedral, Birmingham 1936–1958

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grant, Willis English classical organists British male organists Cathedral organists 1907 births 1981 deaths People from Bolton Academics of the University of Bristol 20th-century classical musicians 20th-century English musicians 20th-century organists 20th-century British male musicians British Army personnel of World War II Royal Army Service Corps soldiers Royal Army Educational Corps officers Male classical organists Military personnel from Lancashire Presidents of the Independent Society of Musicians